


Breaking Free

by Expectoprongs



Category: Supernatural
Genre: A Long Haul, Alternate Universe, Angels, Demons, End of Season 6 never happened, Gods, Implied Torture, Lucifer isn't a bad guy, M/M, Michael is Scary when pissed off, Minor Destiel, No Leviathans, Plot Devices, Rituals, Sabriel - Freeform, Samifer Bromance, The Cage, plot heavy, sort of, soul bonds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-02
Updated: 2013-07-10
Packaged: 2017-11-20 01:12:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/579667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Expectoprongs/pseuds/Expectoprongs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Yeah, so I'm sort of alive… and I need a favor."<br/>After the Winchesters avert the apocalypse and Sam is brought back from the Cage, someone they thought was dead comes to ask for help. AU, Sabriel with a side of Samifer bromance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Supernatural fanfiction, so I would appreciate kindness on your part, dear readers. If not, I will Molotov you with Holy Fire. Assbutt.
> 
> This is an AU. Der, it says that in the summary, idjits. Expect the unexpected. ;)
> 
> Anyhow, ONWARDS

Sam sat in the driver's side of the Impala, doing his best to keep his eyes on the road. Dean was snoring loudly next to him, and the music was cranked so high the speakers were in danger of bursting. Unfortunately, every time Sam would try to turn the music down, Dean would wake up and turn it back up before falling back asleep again. After the fourth time this happened, he gave up with a groan. Shooting his sleeping brother a glare, he tried to tune the obnoxious music out. It wasn't working.

"Sam, he's asleep, will you talk to me now?" whined a petulant voice from the back seat. Sam looked back briefly before setting his sights on the road again.

"You know I can't talk to you while Dean's around. He can't see you… he'll think I have a few more screws loose than I should." There was a companionable silence for a few moments before the passenger spoke again.

"You know, you should really think about forgiving Castiel soon. He may be a blockhead but he means well." Sam started abruptly.

"Lucifer," he ground out.

"What? All this resentment is giving me indigestion." Sam glared and the fallen angel raised his hands disarmingly. "Sorry." Sam sighed and took a hand off the wheel to rub the bridge of his nose.

"I want to forgive him. I really, really do. I mean, he's Cas. But he tore down the wall you built around my soul; he made me remember everything Michael did to me…what he did to you. And that's just something I can't forgive easily." He voice turned hoarse towards the end of the sentence and he rubbed at his eyes. The song changed on the radio to a more familiar tune, but Sam was too upset to enjoy it. Flashbacks of the Cage flickered in the corner of his eyes, and he had to blink quickly to keep them from overtaking his vision.

"Hey Sammy, we're out now. There's no reason to get all upset. Besides, he did pull you out… and without him, I'd still be stuck down there too."

"You are still down there."

"Maybe," Lucifer conceded easily, "but not truly. My grace is melded with your soul, partner, as long as your kicking, I'm out of the Cage." Sam breathed slowly out of his nose and forcibly pushed the disturbing images to the back of his mind. He cracked a grim smile.

"Yeah," he said shakily. "You're right of course. No need to get upset." He reached towards the radio dial and changed the station. The haunting strains of a familiar Jefferson Airplane song filled the car.

'And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to fall…'

It was a song that they had hummed together countless nights in the Cage, keeping each other grounded.

'Tell them a hookah smoking caterpillar has given you the cord…'

_The Cage shook around them, the confines cracking and then mending itself instantly. Michael deserted them and went towards the edge of their prison, slamming his fists on the walls and screaming himself hoarse._

'Call Alice, when she was just small…'

_Sam lay in the middle of the room, his legs so badly torn up they looked like hamburger. His face was streaked with blood; his hair was matted with sweat._

'When men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go…'

_Lucifer was in a heap a couple feet from Sam. He was in no better shape than the Winchester. With massive effort, he faced his "true vessel"._

'And you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low…'

_His mouth was twisted in a wild grin, his eyes dancing with pain and perhaps even madness._

_"Sam…" he rasped through cracked lips, "They're coming for you, you're finally getting out."_

'Go ask Alice, I think she'll know…'

_Sam grinned back at the fallen angel, united with him in their pain and suffering. The smile soon fell off his face, replaced by a pained grimace._

_"What… what about you?" he forced out of his raw throat._

'When logic and proportion have fallen, sloppy dead…'

_"Forget me Sam. I'm destined to stay here forever. It's what God wills. I know that now." He bowed his head, giving into the agony._

'And the white knight is talking backwards and the Red Queen's off with her head…'

_Sam stared at the archangel's still form for a long time, knowing he wasn't dead. Michael never let them die._

_"Screw destiny," he finally said. The Cage shook violently around them as Sam shimmied closer towards Lucifer._

_"Wh- what are you doing?" he asked weakly._

_"Getting your lazy ass out of here," Sam grinned. He cut a sigil into his palm with a rusty nail before doing the same to the angel._

'Remember what the dormouse said…'

_"Sam, do you know what you're doing?!"_

_"Of course I do… sortof." He pushed their palms together; a flash of white light filled their prison before dying out. Lucifer arched his back and screamed as his grace ripped out of his body and latched onto the closest living being, Sam._

_Michael finally turned towards them, eyes wide with shock._

_"What have you done?!" he screamed. He advanced towards Lucifer, who was catatonic, and Sam, who was crippled from the ritual. He closed his eyes and curled into himself, waiting for the inevitable strike. When nothing happened for several minutes, he opened his eyes._

'Feed your head...'

_He was in Stull Cemetery, sprawled on his back. Lucifer, in the form of Nick, his first vessel, lay a couple meters away. They had made it. They were out._

"FEED YOUR HEAD!" Sam snapped out of his memories, looking back at Lucifer, who was belting the last line of the song at the top of his lungs. Sam glared.

"What?" he smirked. "I thought you liked my singing."

(In another world, Sam would run, horrified by his hallucination. Here, he throws his head back and laughs.)


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was slowly creeping down below the horizon by the time Sam nudged Dean to wake up. The deep orange of the sky tainted the inside of the Impala, giving everything a fiery tinge to it. Lucifer sat sprawled in the back seat, his face slack and mouth opened slightly. He wasn’t asleep, Sam knew, but he was as close to it as an angel can get. The orange wash gave him a demonic look, painfully reminding Sam of just who his “bunk buddy” was. Dean opened his eyes sluggishly and looked towards his brother.

“Sammy?” he muttered, voice thick with sleep. His hand drifted to his eyes, wiping the remaining fog from them. “Ugh, I told you to wake me up ages ago.” His neck crackled uncomfortably as he waited for Sam’s excuse.

“You need the sleep,” Sam said quietly. He was turning on the blinker, pulling over to the side of the road. It was Dean’s turn to drive. “Ever since Cas left you haven’t slept much at-”

“Sam, just don’t.” His expression darkened and closed off, shutting out any argument Sam might have had prepared. He opened the passenger side door and stepped out before Sam could continue.

“That went well,” Lucifer quipped from the back. Apparently he wasn’t as knocked out as he had looked. Sam rolled his eyes but said nothing. He put the car in park and opened his door in turn, climbing out before switching places with Dean.

“Find any hunts while I got my shut eye?” Dean asked after they had gotten back on the road.

“Yeah, uhm, while I was listening to the radio. There’s something that sounds like a nest in Wall, South Dakota, and a clan of ghouls in Detroit...”

“Hey Sammy, let’s go to Detroit again. Remember? Our first date!” the angel interjected obnoxiously. Sam clenched his jaw and exhaled harshly from his nose. “Oops,” Lucifer had his hands up in a disarming fashion with a shit eating grin on his face. “Sorry... a bit of a sore subject.”

“I think we should check out the Detroit job. It’s closer, and besides, it’s been awhile since I ganked some ghouls.” Dean said, completely unaware that he was agreeing with the Devil.

“Right. Detroit it is.” Sam said, resigned. He could argue with Lucifer, but there was no way he could win against both Dean and the fallen angel. They drove along in companionable silence, only broken by Lucifer singing a couple lines of I’m on my Way intermittently. Sam struggled not to smile. It was Dean’s least favorite song.

0O0

They pulled up to a shabby motel outside of Detroit with half of the letters in the shoddy sign burnt out. The ones that were still lit flickered menacingly.

“You two mud monkeys certainly know how to live it up,” Lucifer complained before he disappeared with a flutter of wings. He reappeared outside the Impala, looking bored.

“Show off,” muttered Sam under his breath as he opened the door. Dean was already at the trunk pulling out their duffels.

“Let’s get in, do the job, and get out.” Dean slammed the trunk door harder than usual and stepped closer to Sam. “This place still gives me bad vibes.” He turned and made his way towards the motel. Sam vaguely heard Lucifer laugh. He shot him a reprimanding look while picking up his bag. The angel sighed.

“Meet you up there then,” And he was gone. Sam sighed and followed his brother into the motel. He pushed the doors open and walked into the dingy lobby. It smelled like cigarettes, booze and dirt, but it wasn’t the worse accommodations they have ever had to stomach. At least no druggies were lingering in the corners trying to sell them drugs. Dean seemed to share his sentiment by the ways his eyes drifted to all of the alcoves in the area. It had taken hours to get all the puke off his shoes after last time.

After they both deemed the place acceptable, they walked up to the check in desk.

“Can I help you?” a bearded man in his mid forties asked, sounding like the last thing he wanted to do was help.

“Yes, we’d like a room with two queens.” The man looked at them both critically before raising his eyebrows.  
“Right... That’ll be sixty seven dollars for a night.” Lucifer popped next to Sam, looking a mix between annoyed and amused. Sam had to school his face to neutral to hide his surprise.

“I don’t think it’ll ever get old that they always think you’re gay,” he snorted. “Why is that, anyway?” he asked lightly, tilting his head the way Cas always did. It was a painful reminder that he had been missing for quite awhile, ever since he played God and almost broke the world. As much as Sam wanted to be resentful, all of his anger had drained out of him after his last conversation with Lucifer. All he had ever wanted to do was help, after all.

Lucifer frowned at him, sensing his sadness. Sam couldn’t stand the angel’s searching look, and turned his sight to Dean, who was handing the check in man (Dan, his chipped name tag told him) a credit card. Dan punched in some numbers before giving back the card.

“Enjoy your stay,” he said in a monotone. Dean rolled his eyes and turned away, shoving the credit card back into his wallet.

“You bet I will,” he said sarcastically. They took the stairs to their room and opened the door with the key they had received at the desk. There were two beds, as promised, and a small bathroom about the size of a closet. There was a shower, but it was tiny. Sam doubted there would be any hot water anyway. The rug was absolutely filthy, and the tiny television set had a big crack in the screen. Dean walked in first while Sam lingered at the door, still taking the surroundings. He finally shouldered his duffle and stepped inside. Lucifer was already there, sitting on a chair in between the two beds.

“You’ve saving the world at least twice and you still hide out in this dump?” he sneered gesturing to the bed on his left. There was a dried blood stain on the sheets. Sam’s eyes widened slightly and he moved towards the other bed. Unfortunately, Dean noticed the blood at the same time and pulled a face.

“Oh no you don’t princess. I am not sleeping there.” He moved towards the other bed too, and Lucifer rolled his eyes.

“Well one of you have to sleep there, idiots. Just knock him out or something Sam.”

“Rock, paper, scissors for it.” Sam suggested, ignoring Lucifer’s snide comments.

“No way!” Dean barked. “I’m the oldest,” he added, trying to shove past the solid wall that was his brother.

“Come on, man. Fair is fair.” He stuck a fist out, resting it on top his open palm. Dean sighed when he realized he wasn’t going to get past his brother, and did the same. The struck their palms twice before shooting. Sam chose rock and Dean chose scissors. Sam laughed and punched him good naturedly in the shoulder. “Dude, you always choose scissors.” Dean swore and took his duffle towards the bloody bed. He grumbled while unpacking his things onto the comforter of the bed.

“Dude, this is seriously nasty.” he complained, giving the stain a wide berth. “I’m taking a shower.” He went into the bathroom and shut the door.

“Nice one Sammy.” Lucifer grinned.

“I know you never would have let me live it down if I had lost that one,” Sam said finally deeming it safe to answer the angel. There was a lull in the conversation and the running of water was heard.

“I know something’s up Sam,” Lucifer said concernedly. “This isn’t about Castiel is it?”

“No- well, yeah. I’m just worried about him, you know?”

“I’m sure he’s okay, just busy sorting things out.” Sam sighed and climbed into his bed. He turned over onto his side, away from Lucifer.

“Yeah, I know.” Sam began to drift off, tired from not getting a lot of sleep in the Impala. He was almost asleep when there was a soft flutter of wings.

“Gabriel?” Lucifer exclaimed, sounding strangled with guilt. Alarmed, Sam rolled over to see the short archangel looking straight at him.

“Hiya Sammy!” Sam opened and closed his mouth several times, torn between laughing and screaming and asking a crap load of questions. Gabriel just smirked and said, “Sorry kiddo, time to go.” He snapped his fingers and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there we are. Enter Gabriel in all his snarky self.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam opened his eyes quickly, his body screaming at him that something was wrong. Adrenaline surged, masking the momentary disorientation he was feeling. His head was pounding from the sudden burst of light, and his brain felt scrambled with all of his muddled thoughts. He closed his eyes again and reached for the gun he always kept close by him, only to find it wasn't there.

Sam's eyes shot open again, and he slowly registered the feel of leather sticking to his arms from his sprawled position. He was in the Impala? Sam lifted his head slightly, ignoring the developing headache, and looked out the window. He didn't recognize the surroundings outside. The younger Winchester felt his breathing starting to become shallow with panic.

"Hey," a familiar voice spoke next to him. "Calm down." He felt a hesitant touch to his arm, and Sam looked into the solemn eyes of the angel he had suffered with for over a hundred years. Lucifer. His face was carefully blank, but his eyes shone with unease. The fallen angel turned his gaze slowly towards the driver seat, and Sam carefully followed the path of the angel's sight. Relief coursed through his chest.

"Dean," he called softly. His brother was asleep, chin resting on his chest uncomfortably. "Dean," he said again, louder. Dean's eyes fluttered under his eyelids before cracking them open gingerly.

"What… Sam? What are we doing in here?" Dean was rapidly becoming more aware, and he was starting to panic, just as Sam had moments earlier.

"It was Gabriel," Lucifer admitted, guilt heavy in his voice. "He's gotten more powerful since the last time I had seen him in Heaven and he somehow survived." Sam related the news to Dean.

"…What?" he spluttered, straightening from his slouched position. "Sam, Gabriel's dead, the Devil killed him remember?" Sam pointedly ignored Lucifer's imperceptible flinch.

"I know what I saw Dean," he said, a little irritated. "God brought Cas back, why not Gabriel?"

"That's different." Dean grouched, effectively shooting down any opposition yet again. A pregnant pause lingered in the car before Dean changed the subject. "Where are we anyway? If that douche bag is behind all this… what's his game? Aw, man, we're not in another procedural cop show are we? I can't freakin' stand those." There was a flutter of wings and Sam felt Lucifer tense beside him.

"Don't you ever get tired of being wrong, Dean-o?"

"Son of a bitch!" Dean yelped, slamming his head into the roof of the Impala in his surprise.

"Gabriel?" Lucifer spoke softly, his wings unfurling before curling around himself uncertainly. The younger archangel gave no indication of hearing his brother, and Lucifer turned away sadly. "He can't see me, either." He said stiffly, the emotion already draining away and being replaced by indifference. Sam gave him a sympathetic look before looking towards the self proclaimed Trickster. Gabriel had a smug smile playing on his lips as he watched Dean rub at his head angrily. There were small crinkles at the corner of his honey colored eyes, indicating amusement.

"Gabriel." Sam said sternly, refusing to acknowledge the different emotions threatening to overpower him. Gabriel looked away from the cursing Dean reluctantly and turned his scrutiny towards Sam.

"Everybody's favorite moose… now what can I do for you Sammy?"

"Well you can tell us where we are, for starters." Dean cut in angrily. The archangel rolled his eyes and shot a half hearted glare at the blond.

"Wasn't talking to you Dean." Gabriel snapped his fingers and Dean made a choking noise, gripping at his throat. He glowered at Gabriel and opened his mouth to say something, but only made a soft wheezing noise.

"Stop it." Sam snapped. The angel gave a long suffering sigh and snapped his fingers again, restoring Dean's voice.

"Asshole." Dean rasped, rubbing his throat gingerly. The archangel ignored him.

"Yeah, so I'm sort of alive, in case you hadn't noticed…" Gabriel paused there for effect before continuing. "…and I need a favor from my two favorite muttonheads!" Sam and Dean groaned. The angel frowned and tilted his head slightly.

"I haven't even told you what it is yet!"

"Well, whatever it is, you can count us out." Dean said at the same time Sam said, "What do you need?" Dean glared at his bother.

"Absolutely not Sam! I am not working with this dick again."

"Need I remind you, that back at Elysian Fields, without me, you two yahoos would have been uberboned," Gabriel said lightly, but there was a hint of menace in his voice. "Besides, I got my ass kicked for you two! Let me tell you, dying is not fun." He said the last statement with a smirk, looking pointedly at Dean. Sam gave him a bitchface and Lucifer nudged him in the arm.

"Ask him how he survived you moron. I want to know." Sam sent the fallen angel a bitchface too but did as he was asked. Gabriel gave him a curious look after Sam asked him.

"How am I supposed to know? One minute, my Grace is being torn apart and scattered throughout the universe, and the next, I'm alive." Gabriel shrugged. "I try not to question things anymore; it sucks all the joy out of life." Sam sat quietly for a while, processing the information before dismissing it.

"Okay, you did save our asses back there-"

"And countless other times that you may or may not know about…" the angel interjected, not looking sorry when Sam glared.

"-So I guess… we owe you one."

"Don't I get any say in this?" Dean complained.

"No." Sam and Gabriel deadpanned. Dean scowled and dug the keys out of his pocket.

"Okay, well can we at least drive and talk? Where are we anyways?" He put the key in the ignition started up the Impala.

"We're just outside of Clarksville, Tennessee." The trickster stated. "There have been a crap load of demon omens around here, which I noticed right when I got back from being dead."

"And how long has that been for?"

"About four months, give or take."

"Demon omens… we haven't heard anything about them." Dean said, still looking at the road.

"You wouldn't have, their being covered up very well. Whoever is causing these omens knows what they're doing."

Lucifer bit the inside of his lip quietly. "It sounds like one of the possible seals that could have been broken to set me free." Sam's neck prickled and he looked at the fallen angel uncomfortably. He tapped his forehead, and Lucifer recoiled slightly.

"No Sam. I told you I wasn't going to take advantage of our bond like that." Sam shook his head slightly, hoping nobody noticed he was gesturing towards thin air and just dismissed his quietness for deep thought. He tried to relate everything in his gaze.

 _We need to_ , his eyes spoke, and Lucifer finally gave in. The angel placed a cold hand on Sam's forehead and closed his eyes. There was a sharp pain in Sam's head that slowly faded into a weird prickling sensation.

'There, now tell me what you want to say,' Lucifer said, clearly uncomfortable with the intimate, albeit temporary link they had formed mentally.

'Could it be someone is trying to set you free again?'

'I don't think so, and even if they were, it wouldn't work. The box can only be popped once, with Lilith being the final seal.'

'What do you think then?'

'Someone powerful is summoning something. Ask my brother.' With that, Lucifer quickly severed the link, leaving Sam slightly disoriented.

"What do you think is happening," Sam asked neutrally.

"It's a summoning," Gabriel said with something akin to worry. "It spells bad news for you guys if it ends up working." The archangel snapped his fingers and conjured a map and a sharpie onto his lap. He uncapped the marker, letting the thick smell permeate the car before hastily drawing points on a map. "Over the past two hundred years or so, there's been a cult targeting these cities." There were a dozen or so dots randomly on the map. Gabriel drew a line that connected all of them together.

"Oh God, that's a summoning sigil." Sam whispered hoarsely.

"Not just any summoning sigil Sammy," Gabriel said gravely. "This is for an old… acquaintance of mine, back in my pagan days. He was a god of chaos, a rather likeable fellow if you got his sense of humor… anyways, he went dark side. Turned demon on us. Killed a couple other gods before we got our shit together and locked him away. Now someone's trying to set him free."

"It would take a lot of power to set a god free," Sam said, more to himself than to anyone else.

"It takes a lot of blood to get this baby fired up," Gabriel agreed, tracing the outline with his finger. "These points are places that have been massacred systematically for the last two hundred years, the last one being Chicago, 1871."

"The Great Chicago Fire…" Sam choked out.

"Bingo." Sam ran a hand through his hair and groaned.

"That's more than enough bloodshed to get any sigil working."

"Yep." he said, popping his 'p' obnoxiously. "And there's still one more to go. Right here." Gabriel pointed to the center of sigil.

"Clarksville, Tennessee, where all the omens have been happening."

"Right on Sammy. We've got to stop it before that god returns all pissy and turns the continent into fingerpaint."

"Why do you care Gabriel? Last time I checked, you weren't the champion of humanity." Dean said snidely from the driver's seat.

"If only you knew…" Lucifer mused, giving Gabriel a dark grin that Sam was absurdly happy the archangel couldn't see.

"You got me." The angel shrugged his shoulders passively. "I was the one who ended up locking him up. Once he goes topside, the first person he's gonna be looking for is me, and I think I'm fresh out of get out of jail free cards." Sam grimaced sympathetically and patted the archangel on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, we've got your back." The grin the archangel sent Sam was blinding. "But, on one condition." Gabriel's smile dimmed slightly, but not completely.

"I'm all ears Sammy."

"Find Castiel for us first."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this. I actually almost cried twice while writing this, the words were so hard to get out.


	4. Chapter 4

Gabriel's grin fell of his face when he processed Sam's request. Tension ratcheted up in the Impala exponentially, and the walls seemed to be closing in on the passengers. Sam glanced at Lucifer, and then his brother, but they both remained stubbornly quiet.

"Sam," Gabriel finally said, voice a bit hoarse.

"Don't give me any of your bullcrap Gabriel," Sam cut in. "I know you have the mojo to do it."

The honey eyed archangel growled slightly. "It's not that," he said shortly, and turned his back to Sam and looked out the window. The Winchesters waited for the normally jovial angel to continue. Even Lucifer seemed to be straining to hear. "Castiel is doing penance. It may be that he is not ready to come back to the waking world just yet."

Dean spoke for the first time, sounding as though he was trying to mask his worry annoyance. Nobody in the car were fooled. "Waking world? What is that son of a bitch doing this time?" There was a pause, and then he asked a bit quicker, "Is Cas alright?"

Lucifer sighed, remembering the time in the Cage when he did his penance. It had taken a week for him to snap out of his trance, and Sam was frantic when he awoke, thinking him dead for good. He had a lot to atone for. But he had been forgiven.

"Castiel is fine. He is in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying. He does not dare go back to Heaven, but he is atoning for his sins." Dean was silent again, turning his attention back to the road. Lucifer turned towards Sam and gave him a searching look.

"It seems that Castiel's actions towards you, combined with the treason of working with Crowley has taken a serious toll on him." Lucifer said softly to Sam. Sam scowled with slight annoyance. He had already forgiven Cas a while ago, he just wanted to have a face to face conversation with him! Letting some of that impatience shine through, Sam nudged the brooding Trickster with his elbow.

"Cas has had enough time to pray." Gabriel's face was shocked, and then angry. He seemed to be about to say something, but Sam kept talking before he could interrupt. "It's time for him to come home." Dean sighed up from the drivers seat, but it wasn't an angry sigh. It was a sigh of resignation. Dean was letting go of his resentments. Sam took it as agreement. He turned back to Gabriel, who seemed to be considering everything that was said. Finally, he looked Sam and nodded. A flutter of wings was heard, and the angel was gone. Sam let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"That actually went pretty well," Lucifer said with a small smile. "Looks like you'll be reunited with your boyfriend after all." Sam turned red and muttered 'not my boyfriend' under his breath. Lucifer's smile turned into the more familiar smirk, and Sam sighed before looking up towards Dean. He noticed that his brother was looking at him through the rear view mirror.

"What the hell Sam?" Dean said when Sam didn't say anything. Sam groaned slightly, and Lucifer laughed.

"Maybe not as well as I thought," he said snidely before quieting down, letting Sam work through his problems with Dean.

"What Dean," he said a little sassily. Dean frowned even further, if possible.

"You know what! You teamed up with that monster again!"

"Dean, he's not a monster, he's an angel."

"As far as I'm concerned, they're both the same." Sam heard a snort beside him, but ignored it.

"What about Cas? He's an angel." There was a pause, and then a pained noise from Dean.

"Sam, do you forget what he did you? He broke your freaking grapefruit, man. You were catatonic for a week!" Sam was silent for a moment, then he said the words he meant to say to Cas later.

"I forgive him." he said simply. Dean made a disbelieving sound, but didn't say anything. Even Lucifer was looking intently at him. "Family's family Dean. God knows I did some terrible crap, you have too. We always work our way through it."

"Cas isn't family. Not since he teamed up with a demon-"

"I teamed up with a demon, Dean. Remember? Ruby!" Dean winced, and Lucifer shot him a sympathetic look. "But we're still family. We're still together."

"That's not the same and you know it." Dean argued. "He played us Sam! And I don't trust him!" The word 'anymore' was thickly implied, and it made Sam's heart ache. "He tried to open purgatory and fry Heaven! Hell, if we hadn't got there and stopped him from opening that door, who knows what else Cas and Crowley would have done." Sam was about to open his mouth to retort when the fluttering of feathers signalled the return of Gabriel. Sam, Dean, and Lucifer turned towards the angel to see that he was carrying a limp Castiel in his arms.

"What's wrong with him?" Dean asked sharply, saving their argument for a later date. Gabriel grinned.

"Oh, pretty boy here's still in his trance. He'll be out of it soon though." Sam frowned a little but didn't complain. "So, will you help me boys?" Dean looked suspiciously like he was going to argue, so Sam quickly answered for them.

"Yes."

"Great! Thanks Samsquatch!" Gabriel said with a bit too much cheer. "First things first..." he snapped his fingers and a lollipop appeared, which he stuck in his mouth without hesitation. Lucifer rolled his eyes.

"You haven't changed a bit, brother." he said, with a bit of nostalgia in his voice. Gabriel still couldn't hear or see his brother, which made Lucifer smile sadly and turned away. Sam shot him a look and he muttered, "I suppose I deserve this." The younger Winchester rolled his eyes. Who knew that Satan was such a drama queen.

"And now, to Clarksville!" Another snap of the powerful being's fingers, and they were on a different road, driving past a sign that proclaimed:

WELCOME TO CLARKSVILLE, TENNESSEE!

Dean looked back at Gabriel, rage and murder in his eyes. "What did you just do?!" he shouted at his mischievous passenger. Gabriel shrugged.

"Moving things a little faster. You yahoos are too slow." Dean scowled and turned towards the road with a huff of annoyance. Sam hid a smile behind his hand, and Lucifer chuckled at his brother's antics.

"So we're going to get in, and then get out." Dean said gruffly. "I don't want to spend any longer with you feathery asses than I have to." He looked pointedly at the angel duo through his rearview mirror.

"Cool your jets, Dean-o. All you have to do is disrupt the ritual for me, and I'll take care of the rest." Gabriel said cooly.

"Why don't you just do it?" Dean grouched. The archangel pulled a face.

"Can't." he said reluctantly. "Anti-angel sigils surround the place for three miles or so around."  
"Just great," Dean said.

"So, we just make sure it doesn't happen and everything will be okay?" Sam asked skeptically. "Sounds a bit too-"

He was cut off by a groan from the unconscious angel. The radio turned on to a static channel, and then flickered a bit before settling on a Johnny Cash song. Dean frowned.

"What's Cas doing to Baby?" he growled.

_Go tell that long tongued liar,  
Go an' tell that midnight rider._

Gabriel looked a bit at a loss, and Lucifer was nibbling his lip nervously. This was not going to be pleasant. The hidden archangel turned towards the only man who could see him.

"Sam, do you remember when I went into penance in the Cage?" Sam nodded. It had been terrifying. Dean was ignorantly punching at the radio, to no effect. Gabriel was alternating between watching Cas and looking at Sam suspiciously.

_Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back-biter._  
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down.  
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down. 

Castiel groaned again and opened his eyes slightly. The clarity on the radio wavered a bit, but held true.

"Do you remember when I woke up?" Sam did. Lucifer had screamed loud enough to draw the attention of Michael, who hadn't bothered them since Lucifer had fallen 'ill'. The fallen angel looked as though he was both elated and immensely sad and burdened at the same time. Sam hadn't known what to make of it. He nodded solemnly.

_Well, my goodness gracious, let me tell you the news._  
My head's been wet with the midnight dew.  
I been down on bended knee,  
Talkin' to the man from Galilee. 

"Gabriel?" Castiel said, voice raspy. He sounded as though he was talking through a mouthful of marbles. Tears were shining in his eyes, but he looked more clear headed than he had in many years.

"I'm here, Castiel." Gabriel said simply, cradling the stricken angel's head. Sam found himself enraptured at the scene, and Lucifer gave a knowing glance at Sam's face before smiling lightly to himself.

_He spoke to me with a voice so sweet,_  
I thought I heard the shuffle of angel's feet.  
He called my name an' my heart stood still,  
When he said: "John, go do my will." 

"Where am I?" the blue eyed angel said quietly, vulnerably. Dean had stopped punching fruitlessly at the radio, which was still cranking out Johnny Cash. He was now looking distinctly uncomfortable. Sam was still staring dumbly at this new side of Gabriel, a compassionate, brotherly side.

_Go tell that long tongued liar,_  
Go an' tell that midnight rider.  
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back-biter.  
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down.  
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down. 

"Shh, Castiel, hush. I know you've been through a lot... you just need to rest."

"But where am I, brother. I was in Gethsemane, praying, and now you are here... am I dead?"

"No little bro," the archangel said softly, as though Castiel would break if he spoke too loudly. "You're not dead."

_You can run for a long time,_  
Run on for a long time.  
Run on for a long time:  
Sooner or later gotta cut you down.  
Sooner or later gotta cut you down. 

Both angels seemed unaware of their surroundings, as though in a bubble. Sam felt as though he was intruding on a something intensely private, and finally looked away. Lucifer stowed his light smile away and put his arm around his "true vessel."

"It's alright Sam. It's okay to look." Sam shook his head stubbornly, feeling ashamed.

_Well you may throw your rock, hide your hand,_  
Workin' in the dark against your fellow man.  
But as sure as God made black an' white,  
What's done in the dark will be brought to the light. 

Castiel was steadily becoming more aware of his surroundings, and he voiced his previous question more urgently. "Where am I, brother?" he had an edge of panic to his voice that made the Winchesters cringe.

"In the Impala." Gabriel offered reluctantly. Castiel tensed, eyes going wide as he took in his surroundings.

"No," the frantic angel moaned, only half coherently.

_You can run for a long time,  
Run on for a long-_

The radio clicked off abruptly in Castiel's panic, and the sudden lack of music made everything seem that much more real, more frightening. It was then that all Hell broke loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shameless use of a song I had stuck in my head, and for that I apologize. At least it fit somewhat. God's Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash


	5. Chapter 5

_The radio clicked off abruptly in Castiel's panic, and the sudden lack of music made everything seem that much more real, more frightening. It was then that all Hell broke loose._

Gabriel's eyes widened, momentarily forgetting about the writhing angel he held in his arms.

"Dean!" he shouted, making a lunge towards the wheel, but it was too late. The Impala had crossed into the perimeter of where the ritual was taking place, and with a flash of light, Gabriel and Castiel disappeared.

"Shit!" Dean cursed, slamming on his brakes. He brought his hands down onto the steering wheel, wanting a beer in that moment more than ever before. "Damn it! We still don't know what the hell we're supposed to do, and we lost our feathered instruction manual." When Dean received no response, he looked into the back seat where his brother had been sitting moments before only to see him slumped over.

"Sam? Sammy?!" Dean practically threw himself out of the car to gain access to where his brother was. He opened the back door, and saw that Sam was sweating. Cursing under his breath, he unbuckled his brother and laid him out over the seats, noting that he seemed feverish. And... on his neck, there seemed to be a red smudge... it was blood. He was bleeding? Where was the blood coming from? A quick search informed him Sam's hand was bleeding, and furthermore, he discovered by removing his brother's shirt that his entire abdomen was covered with fresh, livid bruises. He hadn't slammed on the brakes that hard...

"What the hell?"

)O(

"Sam! Sam!" Lucifer was panicking, his face was white and his hair was even more tousled than usual. He watched helplessly as Dean unsnapped the closest thing he had to a friend, deaf to the horrible ear splitting screaming that was filling the car. He could see it clearly, Sam's soul was in terrible agony, so much so that his body was reacting to it. He resisted the urge to clap his hands over his ears.

His silvery grace and Sam's bright, pure soul were trying to separate, but Sam was fighting it tooth and nail. The hand that Sam had cut in order to meld soul with grace was split open and bleeding, and he was useless to do anything. He was as helpless as Dean, a weak human. All he could do was watch Sam fight the sigils that they had accidentally driven into.

)O(

Dean was wringing his hands together in an uncharacteristic display of nerves as his brother twitched in agony for no apparent reason. Was he having a relapse of what he had suffered through in the Cage? Suddenly, Sam went eerily still. Eyes widening, Dean placed his fingers clumsily onto Sam's pulse point, smudging the bit of blood that was there. A couple of panicky moments later, was relieved to find a pulse. A racing one, but a pulse all the same. Letting out a shivering breath, Sam finally opened his eyes.

"Dean," he slurred weakly.

"Sammy," the elder Winchester said with poorly masked concern.

)O(

Sam came to feeling drenched and sore. Actually, sore was an understatement. His palm was itchy and it felt as though an elephant had danced on his chest. He opened his eyes slowly and resisted the urge to flinch back at the sight of his brother and Lucifer standing inches away from his face.

"What happened?" asked Dean, clearly shaken at the same time the angel demanded "Are you alright?"

"I don't know," Sam said tiredly, answering both of their questions. Dean looked like he was about to protest and Lucifer looked like he was about to gnaw Dean's head off so Sam quickly continued. "Listen, I am super tired from all this..." he trailed off, not quite knowing what _this_ was.

Dean seemed to catch his drift, but looked reluctant to leave his brother.

"Yeah, alright. Just catch some shut eye back here and I'll get us to a hotel."

"What about Gabe and Cas?" Dean looked up sharply at the nickname Sam had given the archangel but wisely saved his lecture for a later date.

"Later man, you need to rest up before we do anything."

"He's right." Lucifer said gravely as Dean got into the drivers seat and began driving. "Whoever cast those sigils is powerful; they know what they are doing. We're dealing with something big here, maybe even bigger than Gabriel realizes." Sam nodded but didn't respond. Even if he could in front of his brother, he was just too damned tired. He curled up and situated himself on his side. Just as he was drifting off, he felt a hand through his hair. He tensed slightly, before relaxing into it.

The angel said nothing, just continued administering the comfort he barely knew how to give. Something was coming, and he didn't know how he felt about letting Sam just running willy nilly into it without protection. It was then, Lucifer was struck with a truly startling revelation.

He felt kinship towards Samuel Winchester.

That meant, just as it was when he resided in Heaven, he would beat anyone into a pulp if they hurt him. Even his foolhardy brother Gabriel, who was giving Sam the eyes earlier.

Scratch that. _Especially_ if it was Gabriel.

But he wanted Sam to be happy... Lucifer pondered a moment before grinning happily. He was hatching a plan. Even amid all of the chaos he could feel coming, he would play matchmaker between Sam and Gabriel. And he would give his brother the "if you hurt him" speech, even if he couldn't hear him.

)O(

Gabriel woke up, on the ground, disoriented and with a heavy weight on top of him. He grunted as he rolled over, pushing the burden off him. He stilled as he heard a groan come from the lump.

_Oops._ That lump was his little brother, Castiel.

"Gabriel?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"I don't feel right." Despite everything, Gabriel felt himself grin a little to himself. It seemed as though Castiel was back to coherency. Show time. Hoisting himself into a sitting position, he looked on to his blue eyed brother, who was sprawled on his back.

"I'm sorry to hear that Cassy." Castiel groaned again, this time in exasperation.

"Where are we?"

"Well, it seems like my GPS is a bit scrambled, but judging by the grass, and trees, I'd say we are not where we need to be right now."

"And that would be..."

"Clarksville, Tennessee, in the Impala, with our favorite hunters, respectively." When he didn't get an immediate response from Castiel, he looked up to see him staring at him thoughtfully. "What?"

"Respectively." Castiel echoed.

_Oh._

It hit Gabriel like a ton of bricks that, yeah, he kind of liked Sam. Everyone knew Cas had been crushing on Dean since the whole kick ass apocalypse business, but well... he hadn't really told anyone that he had a soft spot for the Samsquatch. Moreover, he didn't even really know that he had a soft spot for the Moose until he saw him sleeping in the hotel and he just looked so adorable.

Then, of course, he had to screw everything up by whisking him and his idiotic brother away on an impossible task that even he couldn't get done by himself. _Whoops._ Now they were alone.

Gabriel's mouth flew open as he realized what he just did. He just threw his new found crush into deep shit without any guidance whatsoever.

_Smooth move, archangel._


	6. Chapter 6

Dean carefully drove the Impala into a parking lot of a hotel nicer than what they normally would have stayed in. He had avoided every pothole and ditch on the way, careful not to disturb his mysteriously injured brother. Furrowing his brow, Dean looked back at the lightly dozing Sam, who was no longer bleeding but was still paler than usual. His new bruises stood out in stark contrast to his painfully ashen skin. Shaking his head softly, the elder Winchester expertly parked the car in between a mini cooper and a SUV. He looked back again, schooling his features to look less worried than he felt.

"Rise and shine Sammy," he called gruffly into the back seat where his brother was sprawled uncomfortably. The jaded man woke up easily and quickly; he had only been dozing lightly after all.

"Where..."

"A hotel." Sam looked as though he was about to protest, but Dean cut him off. "We're not going anywhere until we get more info."

"What happened to shoot first, ask questions later?" Sam asked snidely, trying to get a rise out of his brother. Dean smirked.

"Not gonna work Sammy. Now, are you going to get out or am I going to have to drag you?" Sam grumbled irritably but got up. Lucifer shot Sam a chastising look.

"He's worried about you." he said simply. "Don't be too harsh." Sam waited for his brother to be out of earshot before getting out of the Impala and answering.

"What the Hell happened back there Lucifer? I felt like I was splitting in two."

"That's exactly what was happening," the angel snarked, poorly covering his concern. "When we crossed through angel banishing sigils, my grace tried to separate from your soul. But you've got that Winchester stubbornness that you two monkeys are so famous for," He gave a lopsided grin and twirled a little bit. "so here I am!"

"Lucifer," Sam said seriously, a bit of a bitchface in place.

"What?" he whined.

"We need to talk, really talk. I want to form that connection again."

"Absolutely not," the angel said, scowling. They were catching up to Dean slowly, who was looking back at them every so often, no doubt wondering what was taking Sam so long.

"At least until this whole ritual mess is over," Sam hissed.

"We'll discuss this later." The archangel said shortly. Sam didn't argue when the angel disappeared, no doubt scoping out the hotel before they reached it. When Sam finally caught up with Dean, he was shooting glances at Sam, but said nothing. They entered the hotel together, a comfortable silence settling like a blanket. The check in process went off without a hitch, Dean used a false credit card as usual without attracting any attention. The room was relatively nice, on the third floor, and had a non moldy shower. It was better accommodations than they had been able to afford in a long time. When they opened the door, Sam saw that Lucifer was sitting on a bed, waiting.

"The place is clean, if a little boring. No interesting people staying here," the angel said with a long suffering sigh. Sam rolled his eyes at Lucifer's ever present boredom and threw his duffle on the bed the angel was sitting on.

"Dibs on shower!" Dean called loudly, abruptly making a dash for the bathroom. The door slammed and the audible click of a lock was heard.

"Dick," Sam muttered, with no real venom in his voice. There was a tense moment where neither Sam nor Lucifer looked at each other. Finally, the fallen angel broke the silence.

"I suppose we're not going to avoid this, are we."

"No. We're not," Sam gritted out.

"You know why I don't want this bond, Sam. The soul bond we made is already strong enough, the mental connection will just strengthen it. It's risky, dangerous, and very taboo."

"I just want to be able to talk to you without Dean hearing, Lucifer. I like being able to ask you questions without looking like a nutcase." Lucifer had a stony look on his face, but it softened after a moment.

"This... this is unprecedented. Especially between an archangel and a human." he said quietly.

"I know," Sam said, trying to understand why Lucifer was so worried. "But our whole lives are out of the ordinary. It's unprecedented that I was locked in Hell with you, it's unprecedented that I am your vessel, it's unprecedented that we're bonded in the first place. Why not add another to the list," he teased, but there was an underlying seriousness to his tone.

"The bond we have right now is practical, mutually beneficial." the ancient being tried to explain. "A mental connection will make it more invasive... more intimate." he said closing his eyes. "If it went on long enough, we would start to feel each others emotions."

"I'm willing to take that risk. I have a feeling that we are entering into a dangerous time. We should take any advantage we can get." Lucifer remained silent. Finally, he seemed to decide.

"This might feel a little uncomfortable," he warned, before leaning over and placing both hands on Sam's temples, more firmly than he had earlier. He closed his eyes, brow scrunching in concentration. Sam felt like there were a thousand pins poking into his brain, chest and hand, but contained his discomfort. Suddenly, there was a painfully bright flash in front of his eyes, and he grunted in pain. He screwed his eyes shut, focusing on the reassuring pressure of the angel's hands on his head, until the pain subsided. The younger Winchester opened his eyes and saw something encompass him and the angel. Belatedly, he realized it was the angel's wings, which, _Holy Crap_ , he could see. They seemed out of focus, but truly magnificent all the same. The feathers looked soft enough to sleep on; some were red, others black, but most of them were the purest white he had ever seen. They slowly faded from view, but Sam couldn't help but feel as though he had seen something intensely personal and private. He felt a warm glow in his chest at the thought of the archangel being able to trust him that much.

'Too much?' he heard a smug voice in his head, and Sam smiled.

'Thank you.' Sam said gratefully, ignoring the angel's earlier comment. Lucifer drew his hands away from Sam's temples, and his brain crackled strangely. 'Woah,' he thought in confusion.

'The whole experience can be a bit intense at first,' the angel said reassuringly, 'especially with an angel of my power. You'll get used to it.'

'Don't let it go to your head too much,' Sam snorted.

"We should speak normally if possible, it's better not to overuse the bond." Lucifer said out loud.

"Alright," Sam said, his earlier smile falling into his more usual stress filled frown. Lucifer grimaced.

"What do you want to know?" he sighed, recognizing the classic questioning look on Sam's face.

"When do you think this ritual is going to take place," Sam asked, lowering his voice when he heard the water turn off in the bathroom.

"Likely in two days, during the full moon. But you really never can tell with these things," he said thoughtfully. Sam groaned.

"This is impossible."

0O0

Gabriel groaned as he tried to spread his wings, grimacing as they throbbed angrily. Whoever cast those sigils knew their stuff. Castiel was having even less luck than him, he couldn't even get his wings to move at all. Gabriel sighed and flopped dramatically onto his back, looking up at his younger brother who didn't seem to be giving up. Several minutes later Castiel seemed to come to the same conclusion as Gabriel did.

"This is hopeless," the blue eyed angel said with a frustrated look on his face.

"We're just going have to wait it out. Did the Winchesters teach you any good car ride games we can play to pass the time?" Castiel frowned in confusion.

"We are not in a car, brother." Gabriel sighed. This was going to be a long few hours.

About twenty minutes earlier, the former Trickster had informed his younger brother of the mission he had sent the hapless humans on. He had felt a twinge of guilt when he saw the distressed look on Castiel's face. He really should have given them more to work with... he just hadn't expected them to go driving straight into the sigil line without him noticing.

"Gabriel," Castiel said with a tinge of panic in his voice. "When did you say this ritual was taking place?"

"Hm... I think it was two days before the full moon... SHIT!" He cried shooting up. "Tonight! Those muttonheads don't know what the crap they're supposed to do, and the blood ritual is going down tonight. We're so screwed..." Gabriel dragged his hand through his hair, unable to fathom how colossally he had screwed up.

"I have faith in the Winchesters," Castiel said, deceptively calm. "Nevertheless, perhaps we should redouble our efforts." He screwed his face in concentration, trying to get his Grace to flow back into his wings.

"Definitely," Gabriel said absently, joining his brother in the struggle, but his mind was elsewhere. Elsewhere meaning that it was thinking up a thousand different horrible scenarios, all of them involving a certain giant, moose-like human.

0O0

Sam and Dean had settled down to sleep in separate beds, and Lucifer watched as their breathing slowly evened out. Dean slept with his hand under his pillow, no doubt keeping his gun close. Sam, on the other hand, slept sprawled out, maximizing the use of the limited space he had. Despite the peaceful scene in front of him, Lucifer felt a sense of foreboding that didn't bode well for his favorite humans (yes, even Dean had grown on him a bit).

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

The angel's blood ran cold.

"Room service," a unassuming voice called from the hallway, but the Devil wasn't fooled. He could hear the deep magic steeped in the voice. Too late, he noticed Dean get out of bed, a glazed look in his eyes.

"Coming," he slurred, partially from sleep and partially from the mind numbing magic coming from the voice.

"Sam!" Lucifer hissed urgently, trying to wake the large human, but to no avail. Sam remained unconscious, no doubt because of the magic. Dean opened the door, upsetting the salt line.

"Hullo?" Dean called into the empty hall, only half coherent. A cloaked figure appeared behind the unaware hunter.

"A vessel!" the unearthly voice hissed, placing its hands on Dean's head, who slumped to the floor, knocked out. The figure turned towards Sam, who was still sleeping. Dragging Dean along as if he weighed nothing, the cloaked man stood over the sleeping Winchester, before placing his hands on him too. "They're souls are so powerful," the voice spoke to itself, sounding repulsively reverent, "Master will be pleased." A high pitched note was whistled before both Winchesters and the cloaked figure disappeared.

Lucifer had been powerless to stop it. Not without tapping into Sam's soul, which he would never do. The very idea of him draining Sam to become tangible enough to use his Grace repulsed him.

Shoving down his growing anger and familiar hate, the angel connected with Sam mentally to see where he was. Not far. A millisecond later, Lucifer disappeared and followed his friend.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news. I found my inspiration again!

Chapter 7:

_Drip._

Crimson blood traveled down the Winchester’s arms from their chafing wrists.

_Drip. Drip._

The coarse, musty rope did the job beautifully, trapping the hunters by hanging them from the ceiling. Not that it mattered. Neither of them were conscious, and hadn’t been for at least two hours.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

The rusting buckets collected the prisoners’ lifeblood with a rhythmic tapping of liquid hitting metal. Counting down the time until there was no hope. Until the blood would be used for insidious resurrection.

_Drip._

Resistance is futile. 

_Drip._

The end is near.

0O0

_‘This is Dean’s other, other cell so, you must know what to do.’_

‘Dean? It’s Bobby. I just got word of a crap load of omens surrounding Clarksville, Tennessee. Since neither of you idjits are picking up your damn phone you must already be in the thick of it. Just, be careful out there. Call me back.’

0O0

Castiel spat out a coppery mixture of blood and saliva. It was a surprisingly human gesture, one that set Gabriel’s eyebrows into his hairline. He knew first hand what prolonged exposure to humans could do to an angel, but Cas seemed as though he was changing rapidly. He used to be such a stick in the mud; he admired humans because Daddy said they were ‘good’, but didn’t understand the sentiment he expressed. Now, while still very much a formidable warrior of Heaven, he seemed to emulate the humans that captivated his attention (and in one case, affection). 

_Doubt. Grief. Sorrow. Hate. Free Will. Infatuation. Love. True Love._

These were some of the things that humans carried with them, and tended to pass on to their heavenly counterparts over time. Gabriel had felt the effects of his exposure after his escape from Heaven and embraced them. He felt the thirst for vengeance, lust, and he saw the beauty of his father’s creation. _(Awe: Human.)_ He even got himself a sense of humor. 

Castiel was obviously beginning to emulate the habits of his hunters. So cute. They grow up so damn fast.

That didn’t change the fact the Castiel was spitting out blood. He had done it a number of times himself. Trying to shove his grace into his wings so quickly and desperately was not conducive to his vessel’s health. _(Determination: Human.)_ It tended to spew blood whenever he overtaxed its fragile human capacity. Good thing it was easy to fix.

But what was really eating at him, more than his vessel’s straining organs, was the fact that he had _lied_ to the Winchesters in order to get them to help. He had needed back up, and though he hated to admit it, the broken down ex-vessels were useful. He couldn’t tell any of his brothers that he was still alive, lest he get dragged back up to Heaven, so he came to the weary humans for help.

The problem is, if he had told them the truth, that the ‘god’ they were trying to contain wasn’t a god at all, they would have never agreed to help. _(Manipulation, Ambition: Human.)_ It was, in fact, a wayward angel. One of the first followers of Lucifer. The Winchesters wouldn’t have touched that with a ten foot pole if he had told them. He wasn’t lying about the grudge, however. He had personally buried the pissed angel turned demon. If he came back, Gabriel would be Target Number One. No thanks. _(Self Preservation: Human.)_

But then, everything went to shit. Hell, he began to care for the gigantor. _(Infatuation: Human.)_ He was just so awkward and broken and earnest... _(Love: Human.)_

He was in danger. 

_(Protectiveness, Worry, Self Hatred: Human.)_

“Come on Cas,” Gabriel declared with forced levity. “ _Harder_ ,” he moaned obscenely. _(Humor: Human.)_ He redoubled his efforts to get his wings working, and saw his brother blush out of the corner of his eye. 

Mission accomplished. 

0O0

‘Sam.’ 

His head pounded. His wrists ached. Just... five more minutes...

‘Sam, are you with me buddy?’

The incessant calling of his name (which by the way, echoed horribly in his cranium... annoying) caused the young man to grow more lucid. He twisted his head a little to work out a lingering kink before deeming it safe to open his eyes.

Only to be met by darkness. 

He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came. He couldn’t get the air to vibrate his vocal chords. It was almost as though they didn’t exist.

‘Hey, hey. Calm down. We’re in your noggin. You can’t talk. Just think at me.’

‘Lu...ci..?’ Sam heard a groan. 

‘Don’t call me that. Only Gabriel calls me that and I hate it.’ It could be the fact that Sam was a little out of it, but the fallen angel sounded more like a petulant child than an awe inspiring warrior. He resisted the urge to giggle. 

‘Where are you?’ Sam called out, hiding his amusement.

There was only darkness, no sign of his friend.

‘I’m here. But you should be more concerned with where you are.’

‘Wrist itch.’ Sam muttered to himself. He couldn’t see where he was, but he could feel a lot of foreign sensations in his body. Primarily, his wrists feeling raw for no apparent reason.

‘No, Sam, not Ipswitch,’ Lucifer said with sickly sweet patience. 

‘My wrist itchs!’ Sam mentally yelled. 

‘Oh. Yeah... That may be because you’re currently tied to the ceiling by your wrists.’

‘What?! What the hell?’

‘Hm, I don’t think we’re in Hell,’ Lucifer mused obnoxiously. ‘It’s colder than Russia for Christ sake.’ 

Sam groaned and gritted his teeth. As soon as Lucifer mentioned it, he noticed that it really was cold. He fingers and toes were numb, as well as his ears. Sam recognized the beginning stages of frostbite. 

‘C-can’t you j-j-just tell me where we ar-re?’ Sam snapped through his chattering teeth, a little impatiently. Lucifer sighed, and Sam could practically see the eye roll.

‘Not until you wake up. It seems, since you’re in a magically induced sleep, I’m trapped in here with you. So wakey wakey! It’s boring in here.’

‘Hey!’ Sam growled, a little indignant. His brain was _not_ boring. 

‘Just focus, okay? Because whoever has you trussed up like a Christmas turkey probably doesn’t want you here for shits and giggles.’ Sam knew he was right. Damn it, the devil was almost always right! But it wasn’t just as easy as ‘open sesame’. Sam had no idea of how he could break the spell. He was trapped in his own mind. 

0O0

The wraith in black observed his work with a keen eye. The vessels were ready for extraction, their blood was pooling at their feet. The moon was almost all the way up... not yet full, about two days from its peak. 

He efficiently pulled the deteriorating buckets from beneath the Winchesters, muttering to himself as he worked. 

“Resistance is futile,” he said, the words leaving a bitter taste on his tongue. “The end is near.” Being incomplete, he couldn’t remember why animosity was tagged onto those phrases, but he trusted his instincts. There must be a good reason.

Dipping both flickering hands into the buckets, he painted a sloppy mark onto the cement floor. His very presence in the room so close to summoning time made the temperature drop drastically so that it was below freezing. He hardly noticed. He was intent in his work, focusing on the broad strokes of red on the ground, converging into something meaningful... powerful.

The runes were complete. And soon, he would be too. 

“Master will be pleased,” he said wistfully, looking down at his skeletal form. It was humanoid, but barely. The coarse fabric of his cloak kept his particles together in one shape, constantly flickering from view. He had been that way for eons. But no more. No more.

A wave of his hand caused the two brothers to wake up suddenly. The taller one, whose soul was in tatters but still glowed pleasantly, seemed more aware than his older counterpart. He certainly was strong. He could see why he was Lucifer’s vessel. A vessel’s soul was infinitely more sturdy than a normal human’s. Whatever had damaged this one’s soul had been very powerful indeed.

The other brother, Michael’s vessel, had a soul that looked like someone had taken a fist full of dirt and smeared it all over. It was only superficially damaged, not so much as the tall one’s. But curiously, it glowed at the same intensity as his brother’s. 

The question was, which should he drain first?


End file.
